Cell biology

LE Thanh Huong
 Part 1

What is a cell?
CELL
organism
Can you guest the minimum number of
cells required to form an organism body?

organs

tissues

cells
 UNICELLULAR MULTICELLULAR
ORGANISMS ORGANISMS

Single celled organisms

Neuron RBC Sperm

Size
Shape
Difference in:
Structure
Function
 1665: The cell was first discovered and
named by Robert Hooke

Robert C. Hooke (1635-1703)

Hooke viewed a thin cutting of cork and

discovered empty spaces contained by
walls which he termed cells
Read more at https://www.science-of-aging.com/timelines/hooke-history-cell discovery.php#4YZWECUjTtl3kZlh.99
 1674 – Leeuwenhoek discovered protozoa

Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)

Gave descriptions of many protists, including this ciliate

He saw bacteria some 9 years later,
1838 – Schleiden and Schwann proposed cell theory

1. The cell is the unit of structure, physiology, and organization in living

things.

2. The cell retains a dual existence as a distinct entity and a building block in
the construction of organisms.

3. Cells form by free-cell formation, similar to the formation of crystals

(spontaneous generation).
Modern Cell Theory

1. All known living things are made up of cells.

2. The cell is structural & functional unit of all living things.

3. All cells come from pre-existing cells by division. (Spontaneous Generation does
not occur).

4. Cells contains hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell during cell
division.

5. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition.

6. All energy flow (metabolism & biochemistry) of life occurs within cells.
Domain of life
 EUKARYOTIC
PROKARYOTIC
Image from Purves et al.,
The Prokaryotes/Bacteria

- Unicellular, although a few live colonial lives at least some of the time
(e.g.,cyanobacteria)

- Lack both membrane-bound organelles and multicellular forms

- Include the cyanobacteria (autotrophic) and eubacteria (heterotrophic)

- They are small individually, but make a huge part of the earth’s biomass

Ex: a single E.coli bacteria has a dry

weight of 25x10-14 g, but total
account for 1-1.5 kg of human’s
weight
Electron micrograph of a
thin section of Escherichia coli a
common intestinal bacterium
The Prokaryotes/Bacteria

Prokaryotes are adapted for growth under many diverse conditions

Temperatures:

 Most known prokaryotic species, called mesophiles, grow best between 25° C
and 40° C

 Psychrophiles grow best at temperatures between 15° C and 20° C, but some
species can live at 0° C

 Thermophiles grow at temperatures between 50° C and 60° C, but some can
tolerate temperatures as high as 110° C

? Which group should be extensively studied?

The Archaebacteria (Archaea)

 Lack nuclei are similar in size and shape(s), which initially suggested that they
were closely related to bacteria and were therefore prokaryotes.

 rRNA gene sequence

comparisons: archaea were
more closely related to
eukaryotes than bacteria.

Figure 01.F07: Phylogenetic analysis by molecular methods shows

that organisms can be classified into three domains.
The Archaebacteria (Archaea)

The archaea include the most diverse extremophiles:

Acidophiles: grow at acidic (low) pH.

Alkaliphiles: grow at high pH.
Toxicolerants: grow in the presence of high levels of damaging elements (e.g.,
pools of benzene, nuclear waste).
Psychrophiles: grow best at temperature 15 °C or lower
Thermophiles/hyperthermophiles: organisms that grow best at 40 °C or
higher, or 80°C or higher, respectively. Pyrolobus fumarii, shown below, can live at
a temperature 113°C

Application
Taq polymerase, the heat-stable DNA polymerase that made the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR): Thermus aquaticus
Eukaryotic cell

• A eukaryotic cell contains many membrane-delimited compartments.

• The plasma membrane of a eukaryotic cell surrounds the cytoplasm.

• Within the cytoplasm there

are individual compartments,
each surrounded by a
membrane.
• The nucleus is often the
largest compartment within
Nucleus and cytoplasm of eukaryotic cell.
the cytoplasm and contains the
genetic material. Photo © Wright, et al., 1988. Originally published in The Journal of Cell
Biology, 107: 101-114. Used with permission of Rockefeller University
Press. Photo courtesy of Jasper Rine, University of California, Berkeley.
Membranes allow the
cytoplasm to
maintain
compartments with
distinct environments

Map of cell shows different organelles have different pH values.

Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Prokaryote vs Eukaryotic
 EUKARYOTIC
PROKARYOTIC
Image from Purves et al.,
Protista

Composed of a single cell or a colony of similar cells

Live in water, in moist terrestrial habitats, and as parasites and other

symbionts in the bodies of multicellular eukaroytes.

They are best defined as eukaryotes that are NOT fungi, animals, or
plants
 Fungi

Eukaryotic, heterotrophic, usually multicellular group having

multinucleated cells enclosed in cells with cell walls.

Fungi obtain food by

absorbing carbon and
other nutrients from dead
or decaying organic material
or living organic material in
the case of fungal parasites

The main body of a fungus is

made of filamentous structure
(except yeast cells), fungi
possess cell walls which are
made from chitin
 Plantae

Multicellular, eukaryotes and consist of a rigid structure that surrounds the cell
membrane called the cell wall. Plants also have a green coloured pigment called
chlorophyll that is quite important for photosynthesis.

The plant kingdom has the following characteristic features:

They are non-motile
They usually reproduce sexually

They follow the autotrophic mode of nutrition

These are multicellular eukaryotes with cell wall and vacuoles.

These contain photosynthetic pigments called chlorophyll in the plastids.

They ave different organelles for anchorage, reproduction, support and

photosynthesis.
 Classification of Kingdom Plantae

Plant body: whether the body has well-differentiated structures or not.

Vascular system: whether the plant has a vascular system for the
transportation of substances or not

Seed formation: whether the plant bears flowers and seeds or not; if it does,
then whether it is enclosed within fruits or not.
Classification of Kingdom Plantae

All the plants that lack a well-differentiated body structure belong to the subgroup
Thallophyta

Thallophytes commonly include members with primitive and simple body

designs such as green algae and brown algae. The majority of them are aquatic

https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/
Classification of Kingdom Plantae

Small, non-vascular plants that prefer moist environments

Bryophytes have differentiated plant body like stem, leaf structures. But they lack
a vascular system for the transportation of substances across the plant body

https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/
Classification of Kingdom Plantae

Pteridophytes have well-differentiated structures such as stem, root, leaves as well as

a vascular system

Pteridophytes: Spore-dispersing vascular plants

https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/
Classification of Kingdom Plantae

Gymnosperms are plants that have well-differentiated plant body, vascular

system and they bear seeds
gymno: naked and sperma: seed

Vascular plants that possess “exposed” seeds

https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/
Classification of Kingdom Plantae

Angiosperms are also seed-bearing plants with well-differentiated plant body

angio: covered and sperma: seed

Angiosperms are commonly known as flowering plants

Vascular plants that possess special characteristics such as flowers and fruits
https://byjus.com/biology/plant-kingdom-plantae/
Multicellular, heterotrophic eukaryotes that are capable of mobility at
some stage during their lives, and that have cells lacking cell walls
Classification of Kingdom Animalia